Fighter
by Rosajean
Summary: Ria ends up in the hospital. Cal feels guilty. Complete!  Not a Cal/Ria pairing.
1. Chapter 1

Ria closed her cell phone and looked apologetically across the restaurant table at her sister.

"_Looks like I'm gonna have to cut this dinner short, Eva. Lightman needs me back at the office. Maybe we can get together over the weekend and I can make it up to you?"_

"_Yea, no big deal."_

They paid the check and then headed to the car so Ria could drive Eva home before heading back for yet another late night at the office. On the way there, Eva continued to fill her in on the happenings in her life. They only got a chance to get together once every couple of weeks, so there was always a lot to talk about.

"_So, guess what? I made the soccer team!"_

"_Really? That's great! Let me know when your games are and I'll definitely come."_ Ria let her pride show on her face, glad that her sister was making an effort to turn her life around and stay out of trouble.

Finishing a story about her first day of soccer practice, Eva glanced over at Ria, noticing the lines of fatigue on her sister's face. "_You okay? You look tired. And kinda stressed out."_

"_Yea, I'm fine. Lightman's got me working on a difficult case and, well, you met him, you know how he can be. I stayed up til 4 a.m. reviewing 17 hours' worth of interviews for a case we're on. And then he chewed me out today just before I left to pick you up because he wanted me to stay and I refused. Gave me a bullshit line about my lack of dedication to the job and threatened to fire me like he does every other day. Apparently there's been some new break in the case though and he insists I go back in." _

"_I don't know why you put up with that. I mean, sure the guy's brilliant and helped me get outta juvi, but you deserve better treatment than that." _ Ria glanced over at her sister, wanting to read her face and see if she really meant it. She found no signs of deception. 

"_Well, we both know it's the best opportunity I've ever been given. And if that means putting up with an insufferable know-it-all taskmaster so that I can learn his science and get paid while I'm doing it, then I guess it's worth the trade-off, right?" _

"_But, Ria, just because it's a great opportunity doesn't mean that you should let him walk all over you. We've both been treated like doormats enough to last us a lifetime. And I know how much time you spend on the job. You're working your ass off to please a guy that's unappeasable." _

"_Hey, language."_ She shot a slight warning look at her sister, as she pulled the car into a driveway in front of a yellow house and put the car in park.

"_Yea, yea. Anyways, you need to start laying down some ground rules with Dr. Lightman."_

"_Right. That'd be the day. Anyways, he's not so bad, just some days he makes me crazier than others. He's actually quite a good guy, he just doesn't let on. I doubt he even admits it to himself. Anyhow, I'll call ya later and we'll make plans for the weekend. Stay outta trouble, okay?"_

"_Yea, yea. Love you."_ She replied, giving her big sister a quick sideways hug before getting out.

"_Love you too." _Ria called after her, before backing the car out of the driveway and heading towards the office.

_#_

"_I don't get why I had to stay late if Ria got to leave. How is that fair?" _ Loker asked in a whiny voice.

"_Something about her sister. Told her to stay here, but apparently the fact that it's my name on the door doesn't seem to count for much anymore."_ Cal stated in a tone clearly indicating his annoyance.

"_Cal, you made her work all night last night."_ Gillian stated.

"_Yea, well, we're under a tight deadline here."_

"_I think she deserves a little time off. Anyways, she's on her way back now, she should be here soon."_

Suddenly a song started playing from the other side of the room, seeming to come from Gillian's purse that was sitting on the couch.

_Can't read my, Can't read my  
No he can't read my poker face  
She's got to love nobody.  
Can't ready my, Can't read my  
No he can't read my poker face  
She's got to love nobody.  
P-p-p-poker face, P-p-poker face…_

Loker broke out laughing. _"Poker face by Lady Gaga? You've got to be kidding me."_

"_What?" _Gillian blushed, though grinning at the same time. "_It seems appropriate, considering." _She rushed over to her purse to stop the song from playing. "_It's Reynolds." _She stated, glancing at the number displayed and then flipping it open. "_Hey, Ben, what's up?" _As she listened to the guy on the other end her face fell and she dropped onto the couch, visibly shaken. A moment later she hung up the phone and looked up to find Cal and Loker staring at her with worried expressions.

"_What is it, luv?" _Cal asked, walking closer to her to discern the look of dread and worry on her face.

"_We need to get to the hospital. Ria's been in an accident."_

_#_

Cal drove them to the hospital, turning a typical 20-minute trip into a 7-minute one. He threw the car in park, and rushed into the emergency room with Loker and Gillian on his heels. Spotting Reynolds off to the side of the room right away, he made a beeline towards him. _"Where is she? Is she alright?"_

"_The ambulance just arrived. They took her into the O.R. She was unconscious. It didn't look good. There was a lot of blood." _His calm government-trained-to-handle-emergencies voice was belied by the worry and panic displayed openly on his face.

"_Oh no." _ Gillian quietly exclaimed at Reynolds' words, tears welling up in her eyes. Cal put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her, drawing her in close to him.

"_She's a fighter." _ He stated, hoping the words would reassure her as well as himself.

"_Do you know what happened?" _ Loker asked.

"_I have officers collecting witness statements as we speak. So far all we know is that someone in a red car was swerving out of their lane and into oncoming traffic. They hit Ria's car and then took off before the police arrived. A buddy of mine on the force arrived at the scene first and recognized Ria's name from one of the cases we worked on with the D.C. police. He called to let me know and I got here just as they were bringing her in a couple minutes ago."_

Cal's mind was going a million miles a minute jumping from one thought to the next: Anger at the guy who hit her and ran, guilt that he had called her back into the office, and then worry drowning out all the other emotions. _"Alright. I'll want to talk to all the witnesses. But first I'll wait to hear what the doctors have to say. And somebody should call her sister."_

Reynolds nodded his head and then directed them over to a couch in the waiting room nearby. _"I'll take care of it. Stay here. I'm gonna check at the nurse's station for an update." _

He returned a few minutes later to find Gillian in tears being held by Cal, and Loker pacing the room. _"I talked to a nurse. She's still in the O.R. There's some internal bleeding that they're trying to stop. That's all they could tell me."_ Loker sat down in a chair, putting his head in his hands. "_I also called Eva and she's taking a cab over right now." _ Cal nodded, acknowledging his words, and Reynolds took up Eli's place in pacing the room.

Eva arrived ten minutes later looking frantic. Gillian got up to hug her, filling her in on what they knew, and then they both took a seat on the couch, waiting in silence for the news. It was a long 45 minutes after that before the doctor finally came.

"_We managed to stop the internal bleeding and we've stabilized her."_

"_Oh, thank God," _came Gillian's reply.

"_She's not completely out of the clear yet. She'll be moved to ICU in about half an hour, but she's in a mild coma that we expect her to come out of in a short while and we'll be monitoring her closely. You can visit her after she's been moved upstairs but only for a few minutes."_ They each took turns thanking the doctor and then he took his leave.

"_I'm gonna head down to the police station and get started on the witness statements."_ Cal stated to no one in particular, but getting a roomful of incredulous stares in return.

Gillian grabbed his wrist and pulled him over to a corner of the room so they could talk in private. _"You're not gonna wait to see Ria first?"_

"_No. I don't think so."_ He avoided her eyes, looking down towards the floor instead.

"_Guilt? Cal why are you feeling guilty?"_ Gillian asked in disbelief.

Cal looked up at her, showing her the anguish in his eyes, and then looked down again. _ "Cause it's my fault, Gillian. If I hadn't called her and told her to come back to work she'd still be out eating Italian with her sister, not lying in a hospital bed unconscious."_

She put her hand on his shoulder, saying _"Cal, look at me."_ He looked into her eyes, the compassion he saw there almost too much for his guilt-laden soul to bear. _"It's not your fault. Accidents happen all the time. The only one at fault here is the person who hit her and then took off. She's gonna be okay, Cal. I just know it."_

He looked at her, not saying anything at first, but so wanting to believe her. _"I can't stay. But I'll come back later. Call me if anything changes?"_

She looked over his face trying to discern whether or not he believed her, but couldn't make anything out. Nodding at his request, they shared a lingering hug before he walked out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer's the same as always.**

**Reviews are appreciated. :)**

Eva, Gillian, Loker, and Reynolds waited for half an hour as the doctor had stated before taking the elevator up to the third floor where the ICU ward was and approaching the nurse's station.

"_Hi. Can you tell me what room Ria Torres is in?"_ Eva asked.

"_She was just moved into room 302. She's still unconscious, though. You can go in, but one at a time and just for a couple minutes." _Thanking her, they headed down the hall to the left towards Ria's room.

Stopping in front of the right room, Gillian encouraged Eva to go in first while the rest of them took seats on a bench in the hall. Eva walked in to find her sister in a hospital gown, hooked up to various beeping machines, an IV in her right arm, a large bandage just over her left eye and a cast on her left leg. The sight of it scared her and she wanted to turn from the room and run, but she willed her feet to carry her to the side of her sister's bed. She couldn't find any words to say to her and just watched her in silence for a while, unable to reconcile in her mind the sister she knew to be so strong and the sister lying helplessly in a hospital bed. She pushed a few strands of hair back from Ria's forehead, then leaned over and placed a soft kiss there before she left the room with tears in her eyes. When she emerged, Gillian got up to embrace her and Loker took his turn to enter Ria's room.

He didn't hesitate when he walked in – he had seen too many people hooked up to those machines when he was a kid for them to scare him anymore. He walked straight over to her bed and stood there, debating on what he should say. He had read various studies about how some patients in comas woke up and could remember what their visitors said to them while they were under, so he didn't want to say anything he could get called out on later. As usual, he went to his fallbacks: humor and sarcasm.

"_Well I guess this is one way to get some time off. But you're gonna have to wake up soon because if you think I'm gonna take on your cases while you're lying here in a bed not working, just wait til you get back to the office and see the pile up of folders on your desk."_

Cringing at how absurd he knew he must sound, he decided to just be honest, taking her hand with both of his and hoping she could somehow sense him. _ "Ria… I don't really know what I should say. I'm scared I might lose you. I should've told you how much I care about you before now, how grateful I am for our friendship. When you get better, when you get out of here, I'll take you to that new restaurant you talked about and I'll tell you how much you mean to me. Just please be okay," _he pleaded with her. Tears were threatening, but he pushed them back and walked out of the room.

Gillian hugged him as he exited and Reynolds headed into the room. He didn't stay long, just long enough to promise her he would find the bastard that had done this to her and to send up a quick, silent prayer on her behalf. He wasn't a particularly religious man, but if ever there was a time to petition God for anything, he figured it was now. He left the room and Gillian gave his upper arm a brief, reassuring squeeze before walking in.

The sound of her heels and the beeping of the monitors were the only noise keeping an eerie silence at bay. She stood at the foot of the bed, looking at her colleague, her friend, before moving to her side. Taking Ria's hand in hers, she rubbed her thumb over the younger woman's hand in a comforting gesture, though not sure if she was trying to reassure Ria or herself that she was going to be okay. Studying the peacefulness on her face, it seemed to her that she could almost just be sleeping, instead of in a coma. Feeling like she should say something, she debated on her words.

"_You know, people always wait until the worst things happen to tell each other how much they care. I should've told you before now how much I admire you. How much I think you've grown since you came to work with us. How brave I think you are. I don't know if I could've gone through what you've been through and still come out as strong and capable as you are. Cal thinks you're strong, too – said you were a fighter. I'm worried about you – we all are." _ Feeling like she should give a reason why Cal wasn't there, even though Ria wasn't awake to hear it, she continued, _"Cal's worried too. He just doesn't know how to handle this, so he's doing what he can to find the person who put you here. He feels guilty. You know how he takes the responsibility of the world on his shoulders and –"_

She didn't get to finish her sentence because at that moment Ria's entire body started to convulse violently. Panicking, she started yelling for the nurse, who she was relieved to see enter just a few seconds later, followed quickly by a doctor and another nurse. She was ushered out of the way and then pushed from the room. Eva ran up to her, followed by the others.

"_What's wrong? What's going on?"_

Gillian was trembling, barely able to get the words out. _"I don't know. I think she's having a seizure or something. I was just talking to her and she just started shaking uncontrollably."_

Loker pulled her into a hug and held her until she stopped trembling. Eva started pacing the hall, arms wrapped around herself indicating how anxious and vulnerable she felt. They didn't have to wait long for the doctor and nurses to emerge. The nurses headed back to their station while the doctor stayed to talk with them.

"_She had a mild seizure. We were able to stop it and we've started her on a dose of phenobarbital which should stop her from having another one. We'll keep a close eye on her over the next hour to see how she reacts to the medicine, but for now we'll just have to wait and see when she wakes up from the coma."_

"_Can we sit with her?"_ Eva asked the doctor.

"_Sure, that'd be fine. The nurse will be back in fifteen minutes to check on her."_

The doctor left and they headed into the room. Eva grabbed one of the chairs lining the walls and pulled it to Ria's bedside, taking a seat. Loker and Reynolds each took a seat along the wall and Gillian moved to the other side of her bed to really check that she was okay, still stricken by how suddenly Ria had started to seize the last time she was in the room. She stood there a moment before speaking.

"_I should go call Cal. I told him I'd keep him updated. I think I'll stop at the cafeteria before I come back up though. Do you guys want me to bring you something?"_

She mentally noted the requested two cups of coffee and an orange juice before leaving the room and heading for the elevators.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer's the same as always: I own nothing but the story line and a great affinity towards everything having to do with Lie To Me. **

**Thanks to those who have taken the time to review – they're greatly appreciated. :)**

As soon as he left the hospital a little after 9 p.m., Cal called his daughter, Emily, filling her in on what had happened as he drove to police headquarters. He could tell by the sound of her voice that she was worried and that she was also surprised to find out that he wasn't at the hospital. But knowing he wouldn't bother answering, she didn't ask him why. She made plans to go to the hospital and he promised to meet her there later.

He had just arrived, waiting to talk to the Chief of Police, when he received the call from Gillian updating him on Ria's condition. Hearing the shakiness in Gillian's voice as she told him that Ria had had a seizure when she was in the room with her left him feeling even more uneasy than before, but also cemented his determination to find the perp.

Ushering Cal into his office, the chief briefed him on what they already had from the fourteen witness statements. Eyewitness accounts were notoriously unreliable, but most seemed to agree that it was a male driver in an old, beat up red truck with D.C. plates and that he had been swerving in and out of oncoming traffic. He ran nearly head on into Torres' car and then taken off with the right front of his truck smashed in. Only one person claimed to catch part of the license plate, the last two numbers: 65. They were just running the numbers and description through their database when Cal showed up.

When the computer finished searching the database, the Chief showed him the results: there were 26 possible matches.

"_There's no way a judge is going to give me a warrant to search the garages of 26 people or arrest any of them unless we narrow it down."_ The Chief sighed in frustration and ran his hand over his face. It was clear to Cal that he had seen too many similar dead ends to really expect to find the guy.

But Cal couldn't stand the idea of the guy walking free. _ "Alrigh'. Well, we don't need to arrest 26 people. All I need is a minute with each of them and I can tell you which one it is."_

"_We can't bring 26 people down to the precinct just to question them for a minute. And the likelihood of all 26 cooperating is slim."_

"_Well then we'll go door to door. Just give me the addresses and an officer to go with me to do the arrestin' when I find the slimy bastard."_

The chief seemed to debate this over in his mind for a moment before relenting. _ "Okay. I'll send an officer over to The Lightman Group in the morning to accompany you, unless you'd prefer to come here first instead."_

"_What? Are you bloody mad? I'm not waitin' til the mornin'. We'll go now."_

"_Dr. Lightman, it's after 10 o'clock. You can't go beating down 26 doors this late at night in search of one guy."_ Cal opened his mouth to state that he bloody well could and would, but at that moment his phone started ringing.

_# (At the hospital, earlier.)_

When Gillian returned from calling Cal and stopping at the cafeteria, she noted that Emily had arrived. She handed Loker & Reynolds a cup of coffee each and handed Eva a bottle of orange juice. She offered Emily the second orange juice she had bought for herself, but she declined, having brought a traveler's mug of hot chocolate with her.

They chatted quietly for a while, sat in silence for a longer while, and watched the nurses come and go, periodically checking on Ria's condition. Eva refused to move from her seat by Ria's bedside, never saying a word, just silently willing her sister to be okay. Gillian leaned on the doorframe watching her and knew that she was having a difficult time with it all. Ria was the only decent family that the girl had left and it was easy to read the worry and fear written across her face. She moved over to stand behind Eva, placing a hand on her shoulder to offer some semblance of comfort and support, giving her a small smile when the girl looked up at her in unspoken appreciation.

She was still standing there a moment later when she first noticed it: Ria's hand, the one closest to Eva's, started moving. She looked up at her face expectantly and felt a rush of excitement and relief to see her slowly opening her eyes. _"Ria."_ Saying her name caused everyone else to look up and see she was now waking up. They simultaneously got up and moving closer to the bed.

"_I'll get the nurse."_ Emily stated and took off in a hurry.

When Ria finally pulled herself fully awake, she looked around, taking in the people standing around her bed, noting that her sister and all her friends were surrounding her with looks of relief on all their faces. Everyone, except Cal, that is. She noticed his absence, but was too groggy to analyze what it meant.

"_Where am I?"_ She asked, confused.

"_You're in the hospital. You were in an accident. Do you remember any of it?"_

Ria tried to process what Gillian was telling her, tried to remember what happened, but it was proving difficult.She shook her head no. The last thing she could recall was leaving the office to pick up her sister. She made an effort to sit up but felt too weak to move much. The nurse, who had just walked in, lightly touched her shoulder, telling her not to move and that she needed to check her over. They backed off enough to give the nurse room to work, but unwilling to move too far away now that she was awake. The nurse checked her over and upped her pain medication a notch. Ria was already slipping back into sleep before the nurse turned to address the other occupants of the room.

"_She's okay. It's a good sign that she came out of her coma this early, but now she needs to rest, which means you need to leave. One, maybe two people can stay with her, but she needs quiet and any disturbances will not be tolerated."_ She waited to see each of them nod in acknowledgement before leaving the room.

They hugged each other out of happiness and relief before deciding on who would stay and who would come back later. It was agreed on by everyone except Eva that she needed to go home and get some rest. She tried to protest but she couldn't deny how exhausted she felt, so she reluctantly agreed to let Reynolds drive her home, with the agreement that she'd return early in the morning and they'd call her if anything happened. Reynolds planned to drop off Eva and then head home for the night, agreeing to pick Eva up again in the morning before returning to the hospital. Emily watched as Gillian and Loker debated on who would stay with Ria and who would go home. Eventually Gillian pulled rank on him, and told him to go home and get some much needed rest. He relented, but insisted on returning in a little while to give her the chance to go home and rest as well. Emily left the room to call her dad and Gillian took up Eva's chair at Ria's bedside.


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter's a bit shorter than the others, but it seemed like a good place to break for the moment. **

**Disclaimer's the same. Thanks to those who are reading and reviewing! :)**

After ending the call from his daughter, Cal made plans to meet up with an officer in the morning at the police station before he left for the hospital. When he arrived, he took the elevator up to the third floor and walked into room 302 to find Emily reading a book in a chair by Ria's bedside, who was still asleep. He looked around, noticing the emptiness of the room.

"_Where is everybody then?"_

"_Dad."_ Emily looked up in surprise, not having noticed him come in. She got up to hug him, explaining, _"Gillian went for a short walk and everyone else went home to rest. Loker's coming back in a bit, though."_

"_It's awfully late, luv. Why don't you head on home and I'll be right behind ya?"_ He kissed her on the forehead, keeping an arm around her shoulders.

"_Yea okay. You gonna stay with her til Gill gets back?"_

"_Sure thing. Drive safely, okay?"_ Emily nodded, gathered her things and left, leaving her dad standing in the middle of the room, staring at Ria, taking in all her injuries. He walked over to her, stood there for a minute and then turned to leave. At the door, he turned to look back, and whispered _"Sorry, Torres," _barely audible even to himself, and then walked out.

He had just started down the hall when he heard the elevator ding and Loker walked out.

"_Lightman. Hey."_ He nodded his greeting upon seeing his boss in the hall, and stopped in front of him.

"_You gonna stay with her?"_ Cal asked, getting a nod in reply, followed by a short awkward silence. _"Well get on with it then."_ He stated in his usual brisk manner and then continued walking down the hall. _"I'll let Foster know." _He said, without turning back to look at Loker who was staring at his back as he walked away.

Even though Emily didn't mention where Gillian had taken a walk to, Cal had a hunch on where he could find her. He pressed the up arrow for the elevator, and when it stopped on his floor he got in and pressed the number 5. When it stopped, he stepped out and turned to the right. Looking down the hall, he found Gillian exactly where he thought he might: standing in front of a glass window watching the newborns sleep in the maternity ward, arms wrapped around her middle.

He approached her silently, but could tell that she noticed his arrival even though she didn't say anything or even look his way. He came to stand behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, massaging them lightly before stopping and resting his chin on top of his hand on her left shoulder. They stood there like this for a while, watching the babies and the night nurse tending to them.

"_I'll distract the nurse and you grab one, okay?"_ He whispered in her ear in a quiet, but joking tone.

"_Mmm. Don't tempt me." _She whispered back with a smile on her face.

He turned her around to face him, his hands still on her shoulders, invading her personal space like he always did. _"How you doin', love?"_ He asked her, catching her gaze and noticing the look of exhaustion on her face.

"_I'm okay."_

"_Yea?" _She nodded in response. _"Well, I've sent Emily home and Loker's here now, so why don't you head on home too?"_

"_Yea, I think I will."_

"_You need a ride?"_

"_Well, my car's still at the office, so if you could just drop me at home, I'll take a cab there in the morning and get it."_

"_No need. I'll pick you up."_

She nodded her acceptance of his offer and they walked out of the hospital together, one of his arms around her waist, holding her close to him. Just feeling her close to him, feeling a warm body near his, made him feel better, more relaxed for some reason.

The first few minutes in the car were spent filling her in on what he had discovered at police headquarters and his plans for tomorrow. After that, they lapsed into a comfortable silence that lasted until he reached her home. Putting the car in park, he looked over at her to discover that she had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. He watched her sleep for a moment, loving the peaceful expression on her face and hating the thought of waking her. He debated on attempting to carry her in, wondering if he could pull it off without waking her up, but as he switched off the engine she woke up.

"_Home, luv." _ He stated as she looked around to get her bearings.

"_Thanks, Cal." _ She stated in a groggy voice, before opening the door and getting out. He watched until she was safely inside before restarting the car and heading home.


	5. Chapter 5

Ria awoke the next morning to find Loker asleep at her bedside. _That's gonna hurt later_, she thought to herself as she looked at the awkward way he had twisted himself into the chair, trying to get comfortable. Looking at the clock on the wall, she noted that it was nearly 8 a.m. Her head was throbbing and she found herself wishing someone would bring her something – anything – to eat because she was starving. Debating on calling the nurse but not wanting to disturb Loker from his slumber, she sat there quietly until Gillian walked in a few minutes later.

"_Hey, you're awake."_ Gillian said with a smile of surprise on her face. _"How are you feeling?"_

She smiled upon seeing Gillian, glad there was someone there to talk to. _"Gillian. I'm glad you're here. And in answer to your question, I'm sore. Very, very sore. And my head is killing me. And I'm starving. What's a girl gotta do to get some breakfast around here?"_

Gillian chuckled. _"Well, you're in luck. I passed the breakfast trays in the hall, so yours should be here in just a moment."_ She looked over to where Loker was still sleeping in the chair. _"Wanna have a little fun?" _She asked Torres, with a mischievous grin on her face.

"_What'd you have in mind?"_

Gillian walked over to stand right beside Loker's chair and brought her hands close to his ear, clapping them together once in an extremely loud fashion. He awoke and jolted out of the chair in a panic, then relaxed and began to glare at the two girls who were laughing hysterically at his reaction.

"_So not funny."_ He muttered, rubbing a kink out of his neck.

"_I thought it was." _Ria laughed and he turned to her, suddenly smiling, only just fully realizing that she was awake and talking.

"_Hey! How are you feeling?"_

"_Starving. I haven't eaten since yesterday at lunch, since my fancy Italian dinner was so rudely interrupted." _She replied in a joking tone. _"Do me a favor and go see what the holdup is on my breakfast."_

Loker left the room to do just that and Gillian sat down in the seat that he had been occupying. _"I'm glad to see you're in such good spirits after everything that's happened. We were all pretty worried about you."_

Ria gave her a small smile, appreciating not for the first time how fortunate she was to have truly caring friends. _"Well, I still don't remember any of it. What exactly happened?"_

"_Well, we're still not entirely sure. Lightman dropped me off this morning before heading down to the police station to help find the guy that hit you."_ A shadow crossed Ria's face, but since Gillian was glancing in another direction at the time, she didn't get to see it or question her about it. She continued on, _"It's pretty normal to not have memories of the accident, considering how severe it was. You might never remember the accident or the hours leading up to it."_ Ria nodded upon hearing that– she had heard of this happening before and frankly, she wasn't sure she wanted to remember it anyways.

Loker reentered the room at that point, followed closely by a nurse carrying a tray. Ria got excited until the nurse set down a bowl in front of her.

"_Ugh. Oatmeal, really?"_

"_Just until we can be sure you're ready for something a little more solid."_ The nurse told her with an indulging smile. _"How's the pain?"_

"_Hurts."_ Ria said around a mouthful of oatmeal. Unappetizing or not, she was starving and would eat just about anything.

"_Well that's to be expected. We'll get you started on a higher dose of pain medication after breakfast and that should help."_

No sooner did the nurse leave the room than Eva and Reynolds walked in. Noticing their entrance as she downed the last spoonful of oatmeal, she gave them a smile as they approached and hugged her.

"_Hey, what are you doing here? You should be in school."_ Ria admonished her sister, though the smile on her face implied she was glad to see her.

"_Well, for one, my big sister's laid up in the hospital after some maniac hit her, which my teachers will find as a perfectly acceptable excuse as to why I couldn't possibly do my homework." _She stated in a roguish manner._ "And for two, it's a Saturday."_

"_Oh."_ Ria laughed at her mistake.

"_So how are ya?"_

"_Great – minus the pounding headache and the fact that I just had the blandest food I've ever eaten in my life."_

"_Even worse than that time –?"_

"_Yep."_

"_Wow, that's bad."_

"_Definitely. But not worse than that one summer –"_

"_Oh, I don't think there's anything worse than –"_

"_Definitely not."_

The unfinished sentences between the two sisters left everyone else in the dark, wondering what memories they were sharing. Noticing that everyone was watching them, Ria thought it best to change the conversation before they started asking questions.

"_Just so you know, I fully expect one of you guys to sneak me in a burger for lunch. There's no way I'm eating another bowl of that oatmeal." _She told them all in a completely serious tone. Then, with a grin on her face,_ "Actually, you might wanna make a sign-up sheet for however long I'm stuck here for." _

"_A sign-up sheet?"_ Loker asked her, one eyebrow raised in a question, wondering where this was going.

"_Yep. I'm relying on my wonderful friends to establish a schedule of who's gonna bring me in something good to eat every day." _

They laughed, and Loker replied _"So not gonna happen. But I'll think of you when I'm enjoying my chicken alfredo and apple pie while you're eating chicken soup with apple sauce for dessert."_ She gave him a mock glare and the conversation between Ria and her visitors continued on like that for an hour before Emily stopped by. She had Zoe in tow, who stood in the doorway waiting as her daughter set a vase of flowers on the night stand and gave Ria a hug. She greeted everyone in the room, then explained that she couldn't stay.

"_We're headed out of town to visit a college that I'm interested in, but I wanted to stop by and see you first."_

"_Thanks, that's very sweet of you. And thanks for the flowers. I love daffodils."_

"_Sure. No problem. Your room looked a little drab, so I asked dad and he said he remembered you mentioning liking them once when you were dating that Karl Dupree guy."_ She waved goodbye and left the room with Zoe, leaving an awkward silence in the room behind her.

"_Awkward."_ Ria said in a sort of sing-songy voice to break the tension. And it worked – everybody laughed.

But then, of course, Loker couldn't ignore his insane curiosity that bugged him every time the subject came up. _ "So… you never did say why you two broke up…"_ He tried to nudge her into finally spilling the story.

But all he got was _"Nope. And I don't intend to."_ and a snarky grin. The conversation continued on for a while with him trying to convince her to spill the details and Gillian eventually taking up her side insisting 'a girl's gotta have her secrets'. Reynolds and Eva decided to remain neutral because even though they were just as curious, they thought Loker was digging himself into a hole just fine all by himself and didn't need their help.

The nurse came and went, upping Ria's pain meds in the process. She was feeling rather tired and wanted to rest again, but being grateful for the company, she didn't want to kick her friends out. As it turns out, Gillian got a call from Lightman and she didn't have to.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm posting this chapter just a little while after posting the last one, so if you're following the story, make sure you've read already read Chapter 5. Also, this chapter's a really short one, but here it is anyways. :)**

Cal had spent the better part of the morning knocking on doors with a police officer in tow demanding to know where the homeowners had been the previous night and if they'd been in a car accident. After going to all 26 homes and interrogating as many people as he could find, he wound up seeing a lot more lies between spouses than he ever cared to and ended up with just 4 possible suspects. Of all the people he interrogated, none of them were the perp, and just those 4 were left that weren't at home or work. So he called up Gillian, demanding that she and Loker come into the office and help him hunt them down, and told her to bring along Reynolds for good measure because the 'lackey copper' he had been assigned wasn't doing him any good. Seeing as Ria wanted to rest anyways, Eva decided to leave as well and come back later, promising to sneak in a burger with her when she came.

For this reason, Ria was all alone and was just drifting off to sleep when another visitor arrived. The man – a tall, white guy who looked to be in his late 50s – slowly approached her, stopping half way between the door and her bed. She jolted awake, aware of a new presence in the room, and found herself staring at a guy holding a gun pointed at her.

"_You know, when I hit you yesterday, I thought that I had killed you. But then come to find out, you didn't die after all."_ The guy spit the words at her in a menacing voice and a look of contempt plastered on his face.

Ria stared at him, her eyes wide with fear and apprehension, her mouth slightly open in surprise, slowly taking in his words, and the murderous rage that was creeping onto his face. _"You were the one that hit me? Why? I don't even know you."_

"_No. But you know my son. Jacob Harper ring a bell?"_

Ria's mind flashed back to last week. She had been a witness at a trial for the Assistant District Attorney – her first trial since joining The Lightman Group – and her testimony had played a key role in convicting Jacob Harper of murdering his girlfriend.

She didn't say anything, too terrified that any response from her would set him off, but he started screaming in rage when she stayed quiet. _"My son! My son will spend the rest of his life locked in a prison cell because of you!"_

Two shots rang out as he fired at her, and then he turned the gun on himself and fired one last time.


	7. Chapter 7

Cal couldn't believe he found himself running into the hospital for the second day in a row, panic threatening to consume him entirely as he raced to the third floor towards Ria's room, with Gillian, Loker, Reynolds and Eva right behind him. When the hospital had called 10 minutes earlier, all they had told him was that a guy had come in, shot her, and then turned the gun on himself. They didn't say anything about her condition and he had slammed down the phone and raced out the door once again. When they ran into her room they found two police officers standing where the bed used to be, taking pictures and processing the scene.

Gillian felt her heart drop into her stomach as she surveyed the room, fearing the worst, and felt her lungs constricting as she struggled to take a deep breath. They stood there for a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, mouths open and eyes wide in shock at the sight of the blood on the floor and the broken glass and spilled daffodils covering the nightstand. A nurse who had seen them running down the hall followed them into the room.

"_It's okay. She's alive. He fired at her twice, one bullet hit the flower vase, one grazed her shoulder, but it was a flesh wound. She's going to be okay. The guy didn't make it though."_

They spun around to stare at her, and relief hit their faces as they took in her words. Gillian found herself gasping in air, her eyes brimming with tears as she finally found herself able to breathe freely again.

"_Where is she?"_ Cal demanded, having to see for himself that she was really okay.

"_They treated the wound and she's just been moved to room 337 down the hall."_ He didn't wait to ask permission if he could see her, just took off out of the room in a hurried pace, followed by the others. When he found the room, he barged in, not bothering to knock, and saw her sitting up in bed, wide awake and looking at the sudden intruders into her room standing by the doorway. He expected to find her desolate and crying, or even giddy with happiness to be alive, but what he didn't expect to see was her face void of all emotions, except for a strong look of determination.

"_I'm fine." _ She stated before any of them could ask the inevitable question. Not waiting for any comments from them, _"I just want to be left alone."_ She was looking at her hands in her lap now, not wanting to see or read the expressions that she knew would be spread across their faces. No one moved from their spot, just staring at her in shock at this new turn of events. _"Just go."_ She insisted, her voice a little harsher than she intended. She laid back and twisted onto her side as well as she could with a cast on her leg, turning her back to them. Gillian, Loker, Eva and Reynolds reluctantly backed out of the room, uncertain whether it was better to give her her space or not, but thinking it was probably better to respect her wishes. Cal, on the other hand, decided differently.

He moved closer to her bed. It was driving him nuts that he couldn't see her face properly, couldn't tell what she was feeling automatically. She was usually so easy for him to read – he could always tell what she was thinking or feeling – so it unnerved him that she had suddenly become so closed off. He took another step closer. _"Torres." _She let out a sigh, barely noticeable, but it felt like one of resignation to him.

He didn't expect the words that followed her sigh. _ "I quit."_ There was no question, no self-doubt in her voice, just a tone of determined resignation.

He didn't know what to say. _ "I…uh…what?"_ His voice betrayed a slight hint of disbelief that this is what it was all coming down to.

"_I quit." _She repeated herself, her voice just the same as before, no room for argument or questioning.

He stood there for a long moment, just staring at her, with her back to him. Seeming to come to some sort of internal decision, he turned around and left, slowly shutting the door behind him. It wasn't until she heard it click shut that she finally gave into the sadness that she had been holding inside, hiding from everyone, since she woke up from the accident that morning. Sobs wracked her body as the tears slid down her face, wetting the pillow beneath her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to those that have been reading, and especially to those that have been reviewing. I have one more chapter planned for this story before it's complete. :)**

**Disclaimer's the same as always (even if I do forget to add it in sometimes. :)**

Loker was the first one to speak up as soon as Cal left Ria's room. _"What'd she say?"_

"_She quit."_ He replied in a monotone, moving down the hall towards the elevator, barely sparing a glance towards the others.

"_What?" _Gillian couldn't believe what she was hearing. _"She quit? You can't let her quit. She's just upset. Someone needs to talk to her."_ She took a step towards the room before being stopped by Cal grabbing her wrist firmly and pulling her back from the door.

"_No. She wants left alone. No one enters this room. Got it?"_ His voice was harsh, his stare was unwavering. Gillian found the way he was acting very odd, but he glared at her until she nodded her agreement, followed by the others who in turn received Cal's glare as well. When he felt sure that they'd leave her alone, he continued his departure, not waiting for the others to follow.

_#_

Over the next few days, they visited her at the hospital often – everyone but Cal, who kept his distance. Loker was the first one who tried to bring up the subject of her quitting. She warned him to leave it alone and when he persisted in his usual Loker way she promptly called the nurse and had him thrown out of the room since she couldn't physically do it herself. Apparently he spread the message around because no one brought it up after that, though they were hoping that she'd bring it up herself.

Ria was allowed to go home from the hospital a week later, with orders to rest and take it easy, very easy. Loker volunteered to drive her home, and even though she was reluctant to let him, she ended up giving in. On the way to her home, he insisted on staying at her place to help her get around over the next few days. But she promptly shut the door in his face when they arrived, knowing that if he made it inside he'd refuse to leave. She hoped he wouldn't take it too personally, but after being stuck in the hospital and constantly surrounded by people for the last week, what she really needed was some time alone to recuperate and think over some things.

_#_

Eva stopped by on her way to school a couple days later to check up on her sister. They made forced conversation for a few minutes, but the way Ria seemed detached, almost despondent worried her a lot. Taking a deep breath, she plunged into the subject she knew her sister didn't want to talk about.

"_Why did you quit The Lightman Group?"_

"_I don't wanna talk about it."_ She stared at the tv screen, silently willing her sister to drop the subject.

"_But you loved that job. You loved working for Lightman, even if he did drive you nuts, and you were good friends with the people working there."_

"_Yea."_ Eva wasn't an expert at reading faces but she could still discern the expression of sadness briefly displayed on Ria's face. She decided to try another angle.

"_So what are you gonna do now?"_

"_Dunno," _was the only reply she got. Knowing she wouldn't get any further, she said goodbye to her sister and left for school, sending Gillian a text message on the way: _"She needs help."_

_#_

It was 6pm that same day when she heard a knock on her door and opened it, assuming it would be her sister stopping by again. Instead, she found Gillian standing on her doorstep holding a square casserole dish with tin foil over it.

Gillian smiled at her, saying _"I thought it might be a bit difficult for you to make dinner on crutches, so I made us something. I hope you like chicken broccoli casserole,"_ she added on with a hopeful look that Ria wouldn't just turn her away.

Ria maneuvered off to the side, letting her enter. _"I live off of take-out Chinese and pizza most nights, so a casserole sounds lovely."_ She hobbled to the kitchen, followed by Gillian, and grabbed plates, silverware, and glasses out of the cupboards. Opening the fridge, she glanced back over her shoulder at Gillian, who was loading the plates up with casserole.

"_I've got juice and I've got beer. What would you like?"_

"_Juice."_ Ria balanced on her crutches as she poured them both a glass, and then suggested they take the food into the living room. She made her way on crutches and Gillian brought their plates and then went back for their glasses. They both took a seat on the couch and ate in silence for a while. It wasn't until Gillian took a sip of her juice that she broke the silence.

"_What is this?"_ She asked, analyzing the yellow contents of her glass.

"_Passion fruit juice. I can get you something else if you don't like it."_ Ria offered.

"_No, I like it. I've just never had it before. But I think I'll have to add it to my grocery list the next time I go shopping. It's really good."_

"_It's my favorite. I drink the stuff religiously. My mom got me hooked on it when I was a kid, but she'd only get it for special occasions. Now I get it all the time. Perk to being an adult, I guess,"_ she said with a small smile at the fond memory.

Gillian had never heard Ria talk about her mom before, but she was glad to find that she at least had some happy memories from her childhood. They continued eating in silence until Ria broke it a few minutes later, asking a question she figured she already knew the answer to.

"_So did my sister send you over here?"_

"_Yes and no. She's worried about you. Asked if I could check in on you. But I had already planned on stopping by anyways."_ Gillian admitted.

"_I'm fine. Really. You guys don't have to keep checking up on me. I know you have a lot of work at the office right now. Especially since…"_ She let her voice trail off.

"_You quit?"_ Gillian supplied the words.

"_Yea."_

"_Why did you quit?"_

Ria set her empty plate on the coffee table, Gillian mimicking her actions. She looked down at her hands in her lap, debating on what she wanted to say. Gillian was easy to talk to, but she still didn't like feeling vulnerable.

"_Just between you and me?"_ Ria asked, looking up at her, wanting to be sure that Gillian would keep it between the two of them and not run back to the office telling Loker and Lightman everything.

"_Of course."_ She nodded her assent.

"_There were a lot of reasons, I guess."_

"_Such as?"_ Gillian encouraged her on, not letting her get away with such a vague statement.

"_Well, I'm not sure I even understand all of it myself, really. I think part of it was out of fear. Fear that it could happen again, that I could work on another case and another crazed lunatic could try to kill me. I came awfully close to dying."_ She was looking down again, sadness playing out in her facial expressions.

"_I remember." _Gillian said, a corner of her mouth lifted in a small smile, adding a little bit of levity to the conversation as she remembered how worried she had been after the accident and after the shooting.

"_I don't know. I think the fear thing, I could get past it. I guess it's not the real reason, or well, not the main reason."_

"_So what is?"_

"_It's…I guess, it's Lightman."_ A barely noticeable microexpression of shame crossed over Ria's face.

"_Lightman?"_ Gillian asked, a crease between her eyebrows showing the confusion she felt.

"_It's stupid, really."_ Ria looked away, embarrassment showing on her face.

"_I doubt it."_

"_I just…I guess I thought…I mean, after working there for a while, I guess I've come to look at Lightman as sort of someone I can look up to….a sort of father figure…like I never had. That probably sounds ridiculous. Unhealthy."_

"_No, not really. I can understand why you would feel that way. But I still don't see why that would lead you to quit."_

"_Well, it's just…I think he's… disappointed. In me. Because I got myself into so much trouble, and I think I'm more of a nuisance or a hindrance than anything else to him. I guess I just wanted it too much."_

"_Wanted what too much?"_

"_Wanted him to care. More than he does."_ Ria finally admitted in a quiet voice.

"_Hmm. I see."_ Gillian replied. _"And this is why you quit? The real reason?"_

"_Yea. Just don't tell him, okay? It'd just be awkward."_ Her voice held a slight tone of pleading.

"_I won't say anything, but I think you should talk to him. I think he cares a lot more about you than you know, more than you're giving him credit for."_

"_I don't think so. He didn't come to see me in the hospital after the accident. He didn't even say anything or try to dissuade me when I quit after getting shot. I think he's probably just glad to be rid of me."_

"_He's not. He's been in a sour mood all week and I'm fairly certain it's because you're not there. And he came to the hospital with all of us when we heard you were in an accident. He left because he wanted to find the guy, not because he didn't care."_

"_Yea? So why didn't he come back the next day with the rest of you? He could've stopped in, for just a moment even. But he didn't return until after I'd been shot."_ She tried to keep the hurt and the accusation out of her voice, but it was hard to do.

"_I can't explain why Cal does the things he does. But I do know that he has a reason for why he does them, even if he doesn't often let everyone else know what it is. I really think you need to talk to him."_

Ria didn't respond, just let the conversation lapse into silence. Eventually they picked it back up, switching the topic as Gillian filled Ria in on what she'd been missing at the office. A little while later, Gillian decided to leave, realizing that it was getting late and she should probably let Ria rest. She walked to the door and opened it, before turning back around and looking at Ria.

"_I really do think you should talk to him. Just think on it, okay?"_

"_Yea, okay. Thanks for dinner, Gillian. It was really good and I'm glad you stopped by."_

Gillian hugged her and gave her a smile before leaving for home.

_#_

The next morning, Gillian stopped by Cal's office on her way in, and was glad to find him sitting behind his desk as she walked in.

"_Hey."_

"_Foster."_ He spared her a small smile._ " What's up?"_

"_I stopped by Ria's last night." _ She said without preamble, not really caring to engage in small talk first.

"_Yea."_ It was more of a statement than a question, but he couldn't hide from her the small flicker of interest that showed on his face for the briefest of moments.

"_I really think you guys need to talk. You need to go see her."_

"_Look, luv. She made her choice. End of story."_ His voice was perfectly controlled and unapologetic, expecting her to drop the topic.

"_Cal, just go talk to her."_ she stated in a commanding voice before walking out and leaving him sitting there, staring at where she had been standing, in slight disbelief that Gillian had just ordered him to do something and then walked out. He was more used to the diplomatic, psychiatrist Foster, not the bossy, just-do-as-I-say Foster.

He put it out of his mind as he was busy dealing with clients all morning and didn't think of it again until lunchtime when he was sitting in his office again and heard a knock at the door. He expected to see Foster walk in again, but when he looked up, it was Eva that was entering instead.


	9. Chapter 9

**Here it is – the last chapter! :) It's a bit longer than I intended, but once I started it, I didn't want to split it up. Thank you to all who've been following along and reviewing! You're encouragement has been very appreciated and helpful for those times when I've been running out of steam. Any last reviews would be greatly appreciated! **

**To those who are asking/wondering, I don't have another story in mind just yet – I'll have to wait for inspiration to strike again. :) Disclaimer's the same as always. Characters might be more OOC this chapter, but here it is anyways. **

"_You come here to hit on me again?"_ Cal asked Eva, as she stood just inside the doorway.

"_Hey, if you didn't like it then why'd you tell me to 'climb on board'?" _He grinned at her feisty reply as she crossed the room and sat down in front of his desk.

He slouched back in his seat and studied her for a moment before asking, _"So what can I do for ya, luv?"_

"_I was wondering if…"_ she paused, uncertainty causing her to look away.

"_Well, go on, spit it out."_ Cal wasn't known for being a patient man.

"_I was wondering if you could offer Ria her job back."_ She looked at him hopefully.

"_She's the one who quit. I didn't fire her."_ Cal got a bit defensive, but then again, he'd been on edge all week, if truth be told.

"_I know. But she's miserable. She doesn't say it, but I can tell."_

His demeanor softened a bit at hearing this. He didn't like the idea of Torres sitting at home unhappy. _"Well, luv, she's been through a lot lately."_

"_Yea, but she's not miserable because of the accident or being shot. She's miserable because she's not working here anymore. With you."_ She looked at him and realized she wasn't really explaining very well all that she wanted to convey. So she started over. _"On the day of the accident, when she was driving me back home after you called her in, do you know what she told me about working here?"_ She looked at him and could tell that she'd piqued his curiosity. _"She said that you were chewing her out, telling her she wasn't dedicated to the job, and threatening to fire her like you do every other day." _

She watched as an expression of guilt openly passed over his face, then one of defensiveness. _"Then why isn't she happy she quit?"_

"_Just let me finish explaining."_ She eyed him, waiting to see if he'd interrupt her, and when he didn't she continued. _ "My sister is the strongest person I know. After she got away from our father, she made a vow to herself to never let another person treat her like a doormat ever again. But when she told me how you were treating her at work, I told her she was doing just that. Know what she did then?"_ She waited for the slight shake of his head no. _"She defended you to me. Said that you were a good guy, but that you hide it. That you don't even admit it to yourself. She looks up to you. And she respects you. Neither of us have had many respectable men in our lives, and I think that's why you're so important to her and she puts up with the bullshit you put her through. She doesn't want to disappoint you because you're the first guy in her life that's been worth the effort to get to know, to try to live up to your expectations, even to emulate."_ She waited a moment to let the words sink in. _"She also cares a lot about this job and the people that work here, including you. If she didn't – I know my sister – she would have quit a long time ago."_ She waited and hoped he'd see the reason in her words, hoped that she'd made herself clear enough about how important the people and the work at The Lightman Group was to her sister.

Cal didn't let the surprise he felt at her words show on his face. Instead, he asked her the question that had been bugging him since that day in the hospital. _"Then why'd she quit now?"_ Not that he couldn't understand it after all she'd been through, but she had acted so un-Torres-like that it befuddled him, left him clueless as to what she was really thinking.

"_You'll have to ask her that."_ was the only reply he got. Cal figured as much, but it didn't make doing it, or making up his mind to do it, any easier.

Giving into the inevitable, he replied _"No promises, luv. But I'll talk to her."_

_#_

Cal waited until the end of office hours to head over to Ria's apartment. He didn't call to tell her he was coming, not wanting to give her the opportunity to escape. She opened the door to his incessant knocking and reluctantly moved aside so he could come in. He didn't say anything, just walked right into the living room, leaving her to shut the door and follow him on crutches. She took a seat in one of the chairs, since standing took too much energy these days, and nodded towards the couch, silently welcoming him to sit down. She waited for him to do so, watched as he leaned back in his typical slouch, before speaking.

"_Let me guess, Eva came to see you?"_ He nodded, but didn't say anything. _"You can ignore whatever she told you. I'm perfectly fine. You guys can stop coming to check up on me. I know you've got a lot of work to do at the office."_

"_Do me a favor."_ Cal rolled his eyes at her, not letting her get away with bullshitting him.

She didn't say anything in response to the overused expression, just waited for him to tell her why he came over. For a while there was just an awkward silence, made all the more uncomfortable for her by the way he was sizing her up, staring her down, reading every expression that flitted across her face. He hadn't planned on what he would say to her, but then, he rarely ever planned what to say. Rather, he usually just spoke his mind, regardless of whose feelings might get stepped on. Lord knows, Gillian had called him out on it enough. But he knew she was in a bit of a vulnerable place by what he'd learned from Gillian and Eva, even if she'd never admit it herself. So he really wasn't sure how to start. It was a conundrum he definitely wasn't used to.

He doubted it was really the right first question to ask, but since it'd been bugging him constantly, he went with it anyways. _ "Why'd you quit?"_

She looked away from his prying eyes. He could tell she was trying hard to keep her face neutral, but his expert eyes saw the embarrassment and sadness anyways. _"Just be straight with me, Torres. Okay?"_ She didn't answer him. He sat up and leaned forward, closing most of the distance between them to emphasize his next words. _"I'll make you a deal. You be straight with me, and I'll be straight with you. I'll answer your questions honestly, if you'll answer mine. Facial expressions included – we don't hide them. Deal?"_

He saw immediately that he had piqued her interest. And well, who wouldn't be interested? It wasn't every day that Cal Lightman agreed to be totally open and honest with someone. She nodded and he reiterated his question. _"Why'd you quit?"_

She took a breath and then answered. _"I was afraid. A guy hit me with his truck and then came into my hospital room and fired a gun at me." _She paused a moment. _ "And I didn't even recognize him. He was the father of a boy I helped send to prison and I didn't even recognize him."_

He could definitely read the fear displayed on her face, but there was also a tinge of disappointment rooted in self-reprimand.

"_You were nervous."_ Cal stated.

"_At the hospital?" _She gave him a funny look. _ "I'd call it fear more than nerves."_

"_No, I'm talking about the trial. When I saw you right before the trial you were nervous. It was your first time testifying as an expert witness. When you're nervous, you notice less and it's harder to read people."_ There was no accusation in his voice. But it did sound like he was speaking from personal experience. She debated on asking him about it, but decided not to. Maybe she would later. She mulled over what he'd said for a moment, recognizing that he was giving her permission to not blame herself – the same permission that she'd been denying herself since the day she'd been shot. He saw her accept it internally and then he continued with another question.

"_What else? What aren't you saying? Fear wasn't the only thing that made you quit. Neither were the self-doubts. I saw it in your eyes when you answered the question."_

She shook her head. _ "My turn first. Why didn't you come to see me at the hospital?"_ A brief look of hurt passed over her face, along with embarrassment at asking the question.

He thought it over. He could say that he was there. That he initially showed up, but left later to find the guy who hit her. But there was more to it than that, and he had promised her honesty.

"_Guilt."_

He saw immediately that his admission shocked her, but it also confused her. She gave him a questioning look, knowing that he would understand it. So he forged on, even though he wasn't a fan of admitting to his errors, even just perceived ones. _"I shouldn't have made you come back in and I shouldn't have made you work late the night before. If I had just left you alone to eat with your sister, then maybe you'd never have ended up in the accident."_

"_Yeah, or maybe the guy would have hunted me down at the restaurant and shot both me and my sister."_ She said, trying to make a point. _"Lightman, you had no reason to feel guilty. Even if it had turned out to just be some freak accident. It's my – it was – my job to work hard and come into the office whenever you needed me."_

"_So why'd you quit?"_ He asked the question again, expecting the full answer this time.

She stared at her hands for a while, an internal war waging openly on her face. Reluctantly, she started speaking. _"I think I'm too emotionally involved for the job." _She looked at his face to see if he knew what she meant, and realizing she'd have to be a lot more explicit. Taking a deep breath, she dove in. _"I care too much about what you think of me. I care too much about your opinion. Had it been any other boss I'd have told him to shove it a long time ago, considering the hoops you make Eli and I jump through. But you're not like the majority of guys I know, and definitely not like the majority of bosses I've known. You don't always treat the people around you the best, but you have a lot more honor than most people in this world today. You work every day against injustices and you constantly fight to find the truth. And in my opinion, that's what makes a person good, noble even. And it's what makes a person worth knowing."_ She took a breath and glanced at him, then quickly away. Baring her soul was no easy thing to do. _"I guess I've been looking for you to fulfill a role in my life – mentor, father figure, someone to have my back – whatever you want to call it – and at the end of the day, I think I'm expecting too much from you – from this job even – and expecting you to fulfill a role you're not comfortable with. So when you didn't come to the hospital…"_

"_You thought I didn't care."_ He finished the sentence for her. She nodded and glanced at his face, glancing away quickly again as embarrassment, shame, and hurt played out on her own. He finally understood where she was coming from, why she quit.

"_Well, luv, that's absolute bollocks."_

He studied her reaction to his statement, watching the doubt and the hope collide over her features. _"Look, we made a deal to be straight with each other and it's your turn to ask me a question. So ask me what I think about you and I'll give you 100% honesty. If that's what you want." _

She considered the question. This was Lightman and she knew him too well to expect any false assurances or lies from him. She wasn't sure she was ready for so much honesty, but she took the plunge anyways. _"What do you think of me?"_

He waited a long minute before answering, taking in the nervous twisting of her hands, and the worry and the fear playing out on her face.

"_When you first came to work for me, you were greener than green. I often found myself annoyed at having to explain the science all over again to someone new. And I was even more annoyed that you didn't have to work at it like I did. I've spent more than 20 years of my life studying it and you just waltzed in and saw what I saw without ever spending the time or money that I had to, to learn it. But as I got to know you, I learned a few things about you. First thing I learned was that when you want something, you work at it. You could have slid by on your natural abilities, but you've worked hard to learn what I can teach you. Second thing I figured out is that you may not have spent money and time learning it like I did, but it didn't exactly come free to you, did it, luv? You paid for it in blood and bashings that went on for years. Seems like a far steeper price to me than money and time."_

He watched her as she hung on his every word up until he mentioned the abuse she went through, at which point she looked away in shame. He hated that she owned the shame that belonged to her father, not to her.

"_You're not weak." _He said it and the way she snapped her gaze back to his proved to him that that's exactly what she had been thinking, just as he suspected. _"You've been through a lot in your life that makes me sick just to think about and you've come out on the other side of it all strong, independent, and well-balanced. That's more than most people can say who've gone through even half of what you've been through."_ She couldn't believe she was hearing what she was hearing, let alone who she was hearing it from. He watched her fight back the tears forming in her eyes before he continued.

"_I'm sorry I hurt you by not coming to the hospital to see you. It's not because I don't care. I care too much, since we're being honest. Somewhere along the way I started thinking of you less as a protégé and more as… I don't even know what to call it. A friend, perhaps. But more than that. I care about you kinda like I care about Emily and Foster. I want to protect you. And thinking about any guy who's put you through the ringer, like your father or the guy who shot you – well, luv, that just makes me really very angry. I don't like anyone messing with the people I care about. And I don't like anyone messing with your head or your emotions either. I know I did that by not coming to the hospital, but I – well, luv, I just… it wasn't intentional, alright?"_

She nodded, but was in disbelief at all that he had said. She had watched his face the whole time, knew he was telling the truth, but still it was hard for her to believe. He really was taking on that father figure role that she craved so much. She realized this and leaned over to hug him, it being the only way she knew how to express all that she was feeling in that moment. He hugged her, and when he pulled back he saw tears streaming down her face.

"_Now now, luv. Don't be such a crybaby."_ He told her in a teasing tone. She laughed and sat back in her chair, wiping her face.

"_Well, I think that's enough soul-baring for one day."_ She stated.

"_Definitely."_ He agreed. He hadn't been that open with anyone for a very, very long time. Not even with Gillian. _"So."_

"_So?"_

"_So you'd best be at work first thing tomorrow morning. You've run out of sick days."_

She rolled her eyes upon learning he hadn't actually put through her resignation papers. It was so very like him – nothing happened without his say so, even her quitting. Perhaps that's why he didn't even protest it in the first place. _"I'll be there,"_ she replied with a smile.

He stood up to leave, but didn't head for the door just yet. _"Oh and Torres, don't make any plans for Friday. Apparently Loker wants to take you to that new posh restaurant downtown."_

"_Sfoglia? Seriously? I've been wanting to go there since they opened two months ago."_ He could hear the excitement in her voice, and considered telling her it's too bad she'd have to work late all week, but he decided to not be so cruel, just this one time. He'd be back to his antics tomorrow, though.

He headed to the door and she followed him. He was just about to open the door, when she blurted it out: _"Hey Lightman, are you in love with Foster?"_

He pulled his expression into a neutral face and turned around to look at her. _"Deal's over. And it was my turn for a question anyways."_ He turned back around and walked out, leaving her standing there. It's not like she really expected him to answer anyways.


End file.
